- Ramblin' Jack to perform Saturday January 10th
Don't miss Ramblin' Jack Elliott LIVE at St. Cyprian's Church
RAMBLIN' JACK ELLIOTT
BUY TICKETSSaturday, January 10 8:00pm
$25 door / $22 advance
The legendary troubadour, two-time Grammy winner and direct link to Woody Guthrie and the first generation of American folk music, returns to start our concert year. A character based on Jack (Al Cody) was featured in the Coen Brothers movie, Finding LlewynDavis. Vikki Lee & Russ “The Muleskinner” Whitehead will open the evening.
- Tonight! Ramblin' Jack Elliott & Peter Rowan
Don't miss this opportunity to see two greats play together tonight , Friday December 12th at Berkeley's Freight & Salvage. Get out of the rain and in the doors - both men treasures!
- Don't miss Ramblin' Jack Elliott as Special Guest with Peter Rowan
Don't miss Ramblin' Jack Elliott as Special Guest with Peter Rowan at The Freight & Salvage in Berkeley, California on Friday December 12th!
Peter Rowan, Friday, December 12, 2020, 8:00 pm (doors open at 7:00 pm)with Ramblin’ Jack Elliott, Nina Gerber, Blaine Sprouse, Mike Witcher, and Jeff Keana'aina
$26 advance / $28 door
Purchase tickets online
Peter Rowan is a bluegrass master. His musical roots go back to Bill Monroe. He didn’t just hear Bill Monroe’s recordings – he played guitar and sang lead with Bill Monroe and the Bluegrass Boys in the mid-1960s. After stints in Earth Opera, Muleskinner, and the Marin County rock group Seatrain, he co-founded Old and in the Way with Jerry Garcia and David Grisman. Since then, he’s recorded more than 30 albums and earned six Grammy nominations and a Grammy. His classic originals include “Panama Red,” “Lonesome L.A. Cowboy,” and “Moonlight Midnight” – and he’s just released a new album, Twang An’ Groove Vol. 1, featuring high-energy live versions of traditional classics and some of Peter’s outstanding originals. “The entire band coalesces around a supple groove, suggesting a sound not unlike the Grateful Dead in full jam band motif,” says the website Country Standard Time, adding that the free form improvisation “all sounds in sync, a reflection of the band's competence and confidence.” Joining Peter tonight will be Ramblin’ Jack Elliott, Nina Gerber, Blaine Sprouse, Mike Witcher, and Jeff Keana'aina. Get your tickets early – this should be a glorious musical celebration, led by a true master!
- Ramblin' Jack Elliott tour photos!
Check out these great shots from photographer Scott Preston of Cincy Groove. These photos were taken in Ludlow, KY where Jack performed at the Ludlow Theatre.
http://www.cincygroove.com/?p=48594
- Ramblin' Jack In Nashville & Kentucky!
Ramblin' Jack is on the road this week in Nashville on 'special assignment' we will tell you about later - but let's just say he's with good company doing a special "Guitar Pull" with Guy Clark and others.
Also, Jack is opening a new school in Ludlow, Kentucky on the 8th - so if you are anywhere near there please go and say hey! Check the website often for updates!
- Ramblin' Jack on tour this fall for The Rose of No Man's Land
The Rose of No-Man's Land
w/Ramblin' Jack Elliott!8p Oct 24
McCabes w/actress Kathy Baker!
Los Angeles CA
Show & Ticket Link8p Oct 25
Freight & Salvage
Berkeley CA
Show & Ticket Link8p Nov 1
Center for the Arts
Grass Valley CA
Show & Ticket Link8p Nov 19
Club Passim
Cambridge MA
Show & Ticket Link8:30p Nov 21
Towne Crier
Beacon NY
Show & Ticket Link8p Nov 22
Joe's Pub
New York NY
Show & Ticket Link
Nell Robinson & The Rose of No-Man's Land Features Guests: John Doe, Kris Kristofferson, Ramblin' Jack Elliot and Maxine Hong KingstonDistributed by Compass Records
PBS 'ROSE' Special To Roll Out Late Fall on MusicGonePublic.comThe songs of Nell Robinson & The Rose of No-Man's Land integrate the heritage of her own Alabama family serving in 250 years of war. Most of the source material for the songs are from archived letters, documents, mementos and generational lore, all centered on war and service. Beginning with Revolutionary War to the present, Robinson weaves historic familial history with her lush vocal quality and artisan storytelling with musical guidance by Grammy Winning producer Joe Henry.
Joe Henry's lucent production floats the songs and stories without weighing them down. The music is reverential without being solemn.
Guy Clark and Rodney Crowell wrote two original songs for the album. Crowell contributed "Scots Irish" and Clark's "Heroes" is about recent vets turning to suicide in greater numbers than active soldiers killed by enemy fire. As well, there are traditional songs and songs written by Johnny Cash and Bill Monroe.
Robinson will be touring extensively and in each tour city she will work with non-profits benefiting veterans. As an activist, she wants to draw attention and funds for the needs of veterans, especially in areas of healthcare and soul repair.
- RAMBLIN'JACK ELLIOTT 8 p.m. Friday 9/5/2020 Shank Hall Milwaukee, WI.
RAMBLIN' JACK ELLIOTT
8 p.m. Friday, Shank Hall, 1434 N. Farwell Ave. $20 at the box office, (866) 468-3401 and ticketweb.com.
"Authenticity" in music, as Elvis Costello has pointed out, is basically nonsense. For every sharecropper or dockworker who moaned the blues or country from a deep and daily knowledge of hardship, there's at least one guy who spurned a comfortable life to become an entertainer and then an artist.
Ramblin' Jack Elliott's parents wanted him to become a doctor, but the Brooklyn lad was entranced by cowboys (he briefly joined a rodeo) and by Woody Guthrie (later a traveling companion), and his emulation of Guthrie began a country-folk career that has survived since the mid-1950s.
Having influenced and performed with Pete Seeger, the Dead, Dylan and countless more, Elliott has more recently worked with producer Joe Henry on the 2009 album "A Stranger Here," which picked up a Grammy. Now 83, he's still his own kind of cowboy singer, and he isn't faking it.
— Jon M. Gilbertson,
Special to the Journal Sentinel
http://www.jsonline.com/entertainment/musicandnightlife/the-black-keys-chase-rice-the-offspring-natalie-merchant-ronnie-milsap-jd-mcpherson-glass-anim-b9934-273810921.html
- Unraveling a mystery: Where is Bing Crosby's storied denim tux?
Unraveling a mystery: Where is Bing Crosby's storied denim tux?
Evan Sernoffsky
Updated 11:06 pm, Sunday, August 17, 2020
Carolyn Schneider's quest to track down an unusual tuxedo that belonged to her uncle - the legendary Bing Crosby - has become a hobby bordering on an obsession.
In a dossier in her Las Vegas home are documents, photos, newspaper clippings and other evidence, clues in a puzzle she has been putting together over the past decade.
"I guess I watch a lot of murder mysteries or something," she said. "It's kind of a detective story."
At the heart of the story is a one-of-a-kind piece of clothing with a singular backstory - a double-breasted denim tuxedo jacket that Levi Strauss and Co. gave Crosby in 1951 to right a wrong.
Schneider's search for the suit, and her certification by Levi's as a forensic expert on the garment, are a tribute to a man with whom she feels deeply connected.
She knows that she may never locate it. But Schneider hopes her exhaustive investigation will at least iron out what she sees as rampant wrinkles of misinformation.
"I've met some very interesting people and heard some very interesting stories," she said. "But I want the truth - the truth of the jacket."
Uncle Bing
Schneider, who declined to reveal her age, grew up in Alameda and went to San Jose State on Crosby's dime. After graduating, she lived with him in Los Angeles, while briefly considering a career in acting.
Her affection for her uncle inspired her to write "Me and Uncle Bing," a book published in 2002 that details growing up knowing the celebrated crooner and actor.
But it wasn't until 10 years ago - well after Crosby's death in 1977 - that Schneider set her sights on the tuxedo.
In doing so, she dug into how her uncle got the jacket, a story that went viral decades before the Internet and endures as part of Levi's folklore.
Legend has it that sometime in early 1951 - when Crosby's fame was at an all-time high - he and a friend were on a fishing trip near Vancouver, British Columbia.
When the two went to get a room at a local hotel, they were turned away because Crosby, whom the clerk didn't recognize, was wearing a dingy denim jacket.
The hotel manager, though, spotted the star, apologized and offered a room.
The tale traveled all the way to San Francisco, prompting Levi's to make the singer a custom, Western-style, double-breasted denim tuxedo jacket, complete with a riveted boutonniere, made from the iconic red tabs that flag the back of Levi's jeans.
It was a statement by the company that denim could be appropriate for any occasion.
On June 30, 2020, local dignitaries presented Crosby with the jacket at the Silver State Stampede, a rodeo in Elko, Nev.
"As Bing's career and fame grew, he became interested in property, especially ranch property," Schneider said. "Once Bing bought those ranches, he became involved with the community. He was considered a friendly fellow rancher."
Popular figure
Crosby was so well-liked in the small cattle town that he had been made honorary mayor and presented a key to the city in 1948.
At the rodeo, Elko's mayor, Dave Dotta, also got a jacket from Levi's. On the inside of each tux was an oversize leather patch signed by the president of the American Hotel Association.
The patch was a "notice to hotel men everywhere," which entitled the wearer "to be duly received and registered with cordial hospitality at any time and under any conditions."
The event was a publicist's dream.
Soon the story - along with pictures of Crosby wearing the jacket - was printed in newspapers around the country.
Paramount Pictures was set to release the star's newest film, "Here Comes the Groom," and executives jumped at the chance to parlay the press into promotion.
A month later, the film premiered at the Hunter Theater in Elko, and standing proudly out front was Crosby in his denim tux. After the premiere, though, the jacket disappeared.
But as the picture opened in other cities around the country, Levi's urged its retailers to exploit the story by sending them promotional window displays with replica tuxedo jackets, each with the leather patch that said, "Presented to Bing Crosby."
The jackets, Schneider said, were supposed to be shipped back to Levi's, but few were.
Over the years, she said, the replicas circulated around the world - one traveling to Japan and another to England. She ended up with one herself.
The sad truth
Many owners knew the story about Crosby and the Vancouver hotel, and after looking at the patch figured they had his jacket. At the time, few understood there were replicas.
Schneider's job has been to break their hearts.
She said she could pick the real jacket out of a lineup of look-alikes - and was even ordained as an expert by a former Levi's historian.
"Mrs. Schneider is eminently qualified to examine any Bing Crosby tuxedo jacket and determine its authenticity," reads a letter given to her by Levi's.
But Schneider won't say how exactly she can identify her uncle's jacket, explaining that she fears someone might alter it. Several replicas have been auctioned on eBay for thousands of dollars.
So far, Schneider has contacted more than a dozen people with jackets, including a museum in Elko that has the original tuxedo given to Dave Dotta.
Detective work
As part of her investigation, she either tries to see a jacket in person or asks the owner to send her detailed photos of the front, back and inside.
"I would love for you to have Bing's jacket, but what you have is a replica," Schneider recently told Rex Allen Jr., son of famed Arizona singing cowboy Rex Allen.
"Generally speaking, the owners are not happy to hear from me," she said, "because they love Bing."
One such fan and jacket owner is troubadour and cowboy folk hero Ramblin' Jack Elliott, who lives in Nicasio in Marin County and turned 83 this month.
"I've always been utterly charmed by (Crosby's) rather relaxed way of wording and singing his songs," Elliott said. "It sort of makes you want to tap your foot and smile."
Elliott was given his jacket as a present from a friend who used to deal antiques. In 1995, he wore it to perform at the Grammys in Los Angeles, where he accepted the award for best traditional folk album.
'It looked splendid'
"It looked splendid and it used to fit me. Now it's a little tight on me," he said. "Its made out of old-fashioned, tough, thick denim the cowboys used to wear."
Schneider spoke briefly on the phone with Elliott a number of years ago, and asked for pictures of the coat - but he never sent her any. For all she knows, he might have her uncle's original denim tux.
This year, Levi's reissued the jacket with a limited run of replicas. A display set up at Levi's headquarters in San Francisco mimics the Silver State Stampede stage where Crosby was first presented with his jacket.
Schneider hopes her search ends soon - so she can track down her uncle's famous jacket before more people come out of the woodwork falsely claiming to have the original.
She is adamant that she has no interest in possessing the tux. She simply wants to set the record straight, and she clearly takes pleasure and comfort from the adventure.
Schneider hopes whoever has the jacket is taking good care of it.
"It's become," she said, "kind of a holy grail for me."
Evan Sernoffsky is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. E-mail:esernoffsky@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @EvanSernoffsky
http://www.sfgate.com/entertainment/article/Unraveling-a-mystery-Where-is-Bing-Crosby-s-5694622.php
- Happy 83rd, Ramblin' Jack by Lauren Daley
Raise what you're drinking to the last cowboy.
The last of the rail-riding poets.
Ramblin' Jack Elliot -- the living link between Woody Guthrie and Bob Dylan -- celebrated his 83rd this weekend.
Happy birthday, Jack.
I've been lucky enough to see Ramblin' Jack twice now, including at the 2013 Newport Folk Festival, where, he surprised Beck on stage to duet on Jimmie Rodgers' "Waiting For A Train." He hobbled on stage in his dusty boots, his skinny legs clad in pale blue jeans, wearing his signature bolo tie, flannel shirt and ten-gallon hat.
It didn't look like he planned it, either -- he had a Poland Spring bottle in his hand that he didn't put down, and when he couldn't raise the mic, the octogenarian knelt down to sing on his knees.
It was an epic moment for everyone there, including Beck, who said after Jack left the stage,
"Well that was an honor. I think I'm done now."I saw Jack for the first time back in 2011. I covered his concert at a southeastern Massachusetts venue for my music column:
He wore almost exactly the same outfit, and his hour-long set included an incredible rendition of Tim Hardin's "If I Were a Carpenter," "House of the Rising Sun," a cover of Bob Dylan's "Don't Think Twice (It's Alright)," Woody Guthrie's "1914 Massacre," and "Falling Down Blues."
Of course, you don't earn a name like "Ramblin' Jack" without being a talker. Jack can talk.
Throughout the evening, he had the audience gathered 'round and listening like kids listening to a wise ol' granddad.
He told us tales of meeting Woody Guthrie, singing with Bob Dylan, and a Tall Tale about sneaking into folk singer Tim Hardin's house disguised as a house painter.
"It was a hoax, so I could get right up there on the ladder and look down his throat, to see how he sang and learn how he played," Jack told the crowd.
He had a sore throat and allergies, and the night was also peppered with one-liners like: "Thanks for clapping. If I heard someone sing like I just sang, I'd head for hills." And, "I'm not a music-lover, thank God. I like dogs, boats and trucks."
The irony, of course, is that Jack Elliott loves music more than almost anyone.
He's the kid who ran away from his Brooklyn home at 14 to join the rodeo and learned his guitar from a real live cowboy.
In 1950, he sought out Woody Guthrie, moved in with the Guthrie family and rode the rails with Woody from the redwood forests to the Gulf Stream waters.
Woody Guthrie, it seemed, had a magic that captivated young folkies, and made them want to be just like him.
Bob Dylan, as we know, imitated the way Woody walked, talked and dressed. But before him, Jack Elliott was so enthralled with Guthrie that he absorbed the inflections and mannerisms, leading Guthrie to remark, "Jack sounds more like me than I do."
In 1954, Jack journeyed through Appalachia, Nashville and to New Orleans to hear authentic American country music. In 1955, he got married and traveled to Europe, inspiring a new generation of budding British rockers -- from Mick Jagger to Eric Clapton -- with his American cowboy folk repertoire.
When he returned to America in 1961, he met another young folksinger, Bob Dylan at Woody Guthrie's bedside, and mentored him.
In 1995, Ramblin' Jack received his first of four Grammy nominations and the Grammy Award for Best Traditional Folk Album, for South Coast (Red House Records). In 1998, President Bill Clinton awarded Jack the National Medal of the Arts.
According to Jack's Web site, at age 80, he's "still on the road, still seeking those people, places, songs and stories that are hand-crafted, wreaking of wood and canvas, cowhide and forged metal. You'll find him in the sleek lines of a long haul semi-truck, in the rigging of an old sailing ship, in the smell of a fine leather saddle."
The lucky roomful of people at the Narrows Center who saw him saw a living legend and a true entertainer.
As Bob Dylan said in his "Chronicles: Volume One:"
"Most folk musicians waited for you to come to them. Jack went out and grabbed you... Jack was King of the Folksingers."
Here, here.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/lauren-daley/happy-83rd-ramblin-jack_b_5651823.html?utm_hp_ref=arts&ir=Arts
Follow Lauren Daley on Twitter: www.twitter.com/laurendaley1
- Ramblin' Jack Elliott to the Mid West
Look for dates to be posted in days....for Jack's tour of the mid-west coming soon!
